Arizona-Texas game blog: Wildcats do it again, headed to Sweet 16

Never a doubt really that Derrick Williams was going to get the ball on Arizona’s final possession.

Williams converted the three-point play, and he had 14 of his 17 points after halftime.

“When you have a great player, the thing is when you get on the plane after the game, you’re going to feel a lot better if he had the ball, make or miss,” coach Sean Miller said in the postgame TNT interview.

“I give him tremendous credit, because I am here to tell you, he hasn’t struggled like that offensively one time this year. But there was no head-hanging, there was no, ‘Tonight is not my night.’

“At the very, very clutch moment — after playing, in his mind probably subpar — he finished the game off. He’s like Mariano Rivera. When the game is on the line, he finishes them off.”

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J’Covan Brown drives to the basket on the final possession … he doesn’t get the foul. He ends up with a wild shot high off the glass, and time runs out.

Arizona wins 70-69 and is headed to the Sweet 16 to play top-seeded Duke on Thursday.

Unbelievable.

The Wildcats, after winning two games in Tulsa that were undecided inside the final second, are moving on.

* * *

Arizona gets the ball back after Texas fails to get the ball inbounds within five seconds. Arizona works the ball to Derrick Williams — nice bounce back by Kyle Fogg — who gets fouled while flipping the ball in with his right hand.

Williams is going to the line with the game tied with 9.6 seconds left. He makes it.

* * *

Derrick Williams tries to maneuver into the lane — maybe get the foul — but he has to force up a shot under pressure that gets re-directed. Texas grabs the ball, calls timeout with 14.5 seconds left, up two points.

* * *

Solomon Hill spins to the rim one more time. He’s blocked. Kyryl Natyazhko grabs the rebounds, kicks to Derrick Williams for a three-pointer … no good. Arizona grabs the board again and gets a timeout with 27.0 to go.

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Solomon Hill travels. Texas ball with 1:24 to go.

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Arizona with the ball and the timeout with 1:34 to play. Game tied at 67.

* * *

Derrick Williams with the rebound. Derrick Williams with the rebound. Derrick Williams with the rebound. And he gets fouled.

On offense, Arizona’s Derrick Williams has been able to get to the line in the second half … but, at this point, the hero is just as likely — if not more so — to be somebody else.

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J’Covan Brown. Can he be stopped? He’s up to 16 points.

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You expected an Arizona game against a good team to NOT go down to the wire? Lots of drama left. Cats lead 58-55 with 7:24 to go.

Derrick Williams asserting himself on offense for Arizona. Guard J’Covan Brown doing the same for Texas.

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One of the keys to the game was keeping Texas off the offensive glass. Only five offensive boards for the Longhorns so far with under 10 minutes to play.

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Arizona keeping the stiff-arm on Texas, pulling away whenever the Longhorns get close by converting turnovers into easy points. The Wildcats lead 49-40 with 11:46 to play.

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Intentional foul on Solomon Hill for an elbow to the face of Dogus Balbay.

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A 5-0 run allows the Cats to push the lead back to eight at 43-35. Arizona needs to run when it can, and that means creating offense with defense.

Derrick Williams failed to convert this shot in the first half but his teammates picked him up. Photo by Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

* * *

Derrick Williams scores his first basket of the game on a quick baseline move that ends in a dunk with 15:44 to play in the game. But the story continues to be Jordin Mayes, who hits his fourth 3-pointer in as many tries.

He came back into the game before the first media timeout as coach Sean Miller didn’t like the way MoMo Jones was looking for his own shot. It’s not working for Jones this game; when he gets back in, he’ll need to look for everyone else.

* * *

No one doubts Jordan Hamilton’s raw ability. Consistency from the outside hasn’t been his thing, though. But if he heats up — as he is with two 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the half — watch out.

Texas has cut the lead to 38-33.

* * *

Arizona is 6 of 11 from 3-point range, with only three turnovers, against a great defensive team. Can the Cats keep that up?

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Tweets Javier Morales of TucsonCitizen.com: Arizona’s 11-pt lead at half ties for biggest at intermission since leading by 15 at Oregon on Dec. 30. Led OreSt by 11 on March 3

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Reminder: Arizona not good at protecting leads this season.

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I’m surprised. Maybe shocked. How about you? Best half of basketball for Arizona this season?

Derrick Williams is 0 of 6 from the field. MoMo Jones hasn’t scored. The Wildcats lead 36-25 at halftime.

Derrick Williams yet to make a shot. Arizona winning 30-19 because of the Gumbies.

* * *

It’s raining 3s in Tulsa. Brendon Lavender hits back-to-back shots from behind the arc to give Arizona a 28-18 lead with 4:58 to play.

Isn’t depth great?

* * *

Jordin Mayes has another 3-pointer … so he now has triple the points (nine) that Derrick Williams has.

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Kevin Parrom back for Arizona.

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For the record, Arizona held Texas without a point for 7 minutes, 36 seconds. Half-court defense has been terrific. Give Texas the 3-pointer if it wants it. Just have to limit the turnovers that lead to transition offense for the Longhorns.

Arizona leads 19-16 with 7:43 left in the half.

* * *

Texas converts two fast-break dunks after lack-of-hustle plays from Arizona. Can’t blink against the Longhorns. This isn’t Arizona State.

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An 11-0 run for Arizona means a 19-12 lead.

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Texas now cold from the field, but bad news for Arizona: Kevin Parrom goes to the locker room with an ankle injury.

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Jordin Mayes has hit seven consecutive 3-point attempts, dating to USC game in Pac-10 semifinals. He has improved his season percentage from 39.7 to 45.0.

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Jordin Mayes gives Arizona a 14-12 lead with a 3-pointer. Mr. NCAA Tournament.

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So far, it’s been Arizona trying 3-point shots vs. Texas attacking the rim. Who do you like in that battle?

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Jamelle Horne with two fouls with 14:03 to play in the half.

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No team plays flawlessly on offense, but Arizona sure does love to take 3-pointers early in the shot clock …

* * *

Derrick Williams too quick for Gary Johnson when he faces up to the basket. The problem for Williams is that Texas has Tristan Thompson coming from the weak side to help. Thompson — who had seven blocks Friday against Oakland — gets his first today right before the first TV timeout.

Texas leads 12-8 and has made 6 of 7 shots from the field.

* * *

Nice patience from Derrick Williams, looking at a double- or triple-team if he made a move to the basket, instead fires diagonally to Kyle Fogg for a 3-pointer. Those kick-outs and 3-pointers are so key to Arizona’s offensive success today.

* * *

Tristan Thompson opens the game with a dunk. That’s one.

Arizona might prefer to see Jordan Hamilton shoot jumpers rather than driving to the hoop. Photo by Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE.

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Duke held on to beat Michigan earlier Sunday, so the Texas-Arizona winner gets the right to take on the top-seeded Blue Devils in the Sweet 16 in Anaheim. Arizona-Duke? Yes, please.

* * *

Arizona is the last hope of the Pac-10, as the fifth-seeded Wildcats take on No. 4 seed Texas in Tulsa this afternoon.

I asked a Big 12-based writer at the Tucson subregional Saturday what he thought of Texas. He replied that the Longhorns could either be a Final Four team or they could implode today against the Wildcats.

Sounds like a non-answer answer … but that’s kind of the thing about the Horns. They counter elite talent with the ability to stink up the gym on occasion.

Perhaps Arizona’s best chance is for Texas sophomore wing Jordan Hamilton to put up one of those stinkers. When his shot isn’t falling, he tends to keep on shooting and shooting and shooting.

When the Longhorns lost three of four games late in the regular season, Hamilton was a brutal 15 of 58 from the field in the losses.

He was 0 of 3 from 3-point range as Texas held on to beat Oakland in the NCAA Tournament second round, but he might be getting smart enough to abandon his jump shooting. “As of late, my three hasn’t been falling, so I just said I’m going to go to the block and do anything I can to score the ball,” Hamilton said after the game.